Ezells Famous Chicken!

When I first rolled up in Seattle I was getting bombarded with places that I needed to try. Every day I would get emails asking, "HAVE YOU TRIED THIS PLACE?" or "THE ONE PLACE YOU NEED TO GO IS HERE!" So I made a list. It's a long list. Long as hell. But one place stood out, that I might have gotten more inquiries about than any other.  This place was Ezell's Famous Chicken! For those of you who don't know, apparently it is Oprah's favorite chicken place and she likes it so much that she has it flown in to her across the country in Chicago!

If Oprah likes it, it has to be good, right? 

So I took a trip to Ezell's to finally check them out. From outside, I wasn't too impressed! Cool sign, but it's just in a little strip mall so I didn't know what to expect. 

One of the first things I noticed is that they don't mess around with little napkin dispensers at Ezells. Nope. They go full on roll of paper towels at every table, just like in your favorite barbeque joints.  Fat guys love this because they know that it's okay to make a mess here. It's like you've been given free reign to make a pig of yourself.  Alright, Ezell's, you've officially gotten my attention.  But hear me, my friends. Their menu is vast and I was caught up in the excitement. Aka: I got way too much food. But it's a food bloggers job to try an array of items when reviewing not just one thing, but the entire restaurant. So...yet again I take one for the team. You guys & gals. TEAM FGFB! 

Two pieces of chicken & a roll!

First up? I'm diving right in to the main reason I'm here. CHICKEN. I get a two piece combo that comes with one of their rolls. Don't you dare call it a biscuit . I have the choice of white or dark meat. I go white meat because that's what I like. If there are any fans of dark meat chicken out there hoping to hear what I thought, sorry, brah. Now, I usually don't waste my time with chicken on the bone because I'm not a fan of chewing on gristle and tendons and all that. I'll take a nice trimmed chicken breast any day of the week. But with a chicken so famous, I just had to try it like this, and sweet mother of all that is holy, I'm glad I did! 

This was THE best fried chicken I have ever had in my life. Hands down. No question about it. The breading on the outside was unlike any I have ever had. Very crunchy but not the kind that falls off and gets all over you. The amount of delicious, white meat chicken in each piece straight up blew my mind. The meat was juicy and tender, and as a guy usually grossed out by chicken with bones, I found myself gnawing every last piece off of these chunks like a starving junkyard dog. I'm going to tell you this, even if the rest of this review nose dived and everything else was terrible, I WOULD STILL GIVE THEM AN A! That's how good this chicken was.

What's taters, precious?

Also tried the mashed potatoes and gravy. Not much I can say about these. The potatoes themselves were nothing special. Just your usual near tasteless instant potatoes but the gravy had a great flavor to it that really defined them. This batch seemed heavy on the black pepper and I was okay with that. In the end, you know what you're getting into with these. They won't blow you away but they definitely work for a side.

The Heritage Mac & Cheese also wasn't bad, but wasn't great. It's really thick and creamy and sort of reminded me of when I make homemade mac and cheese and then reheat the leftovers a couple days later. Still good, but just as a side to the main course.

It's like a dinner cupcake!

These Fresh Baked Rolls were fantastic though! Definitely not what I thought they would be. Looking at them my brain automatically expected them to be like corn bread for some reason, but they were not corn bread at all. They are a delicious chewy roll that bursts with flavor. It's also quite sweet and shaped like a muffin. Very different from the biscuit offering at KFC but they were so good that I ate two! I sort of wish I had gotten two HUNDRED.

But I figured if we're going to try a little of everything, might as well see how their chicken fingers are, right? So I got the one that comes with fries so I could kill two birds with one stone. Fries? Crinkle cut and crispy. Not bad at all. Chicken fingers? Off the damn charts.

Similar breading to the other chicken, just seems like a thinner layer of it. Inside, is just the nicest, juicy, tender white meat chicken you could ask for. No blubber or gristle in sight.  Back in New Hampshire we used to have Chester Fried Chicken at small shops and convenience stores. I think some of them still exist and others became Roadies Chicken. At one time they were the best chicken fingers I had ever had, but they since dipped in quality. Another spot that has great ones? The Thirsty Moose in Portsmouth, NH. Awesome chicken fingers. However, all these pale in comparison to Ezell's. These are quite possibly the best chicken fingers on earth. They had an array of sauces but the ones that stuck out were their BBQ Ranch and just straight up honey. Some seemed to be their own recipe and others were just pre-packaged little containers full. I would love to see them do away with the latter and just do all their own sauces!

That's some SERIOUS white meat! 

In the end I have to say that Ezell's did not disappoint. They get a massive A from us and our official FGFB seal of approval. The sides didn't blow me away but EVERYTHING ELSE DID. Ezell's has THE best fried chicken on planet Earth. 

I'm pretty sure Colonel Sanders would try a piece and close up shop. Sorry, KFC you're gas station chicken compared to Ezell's and that's just a straight up fact.  I will absolutely be returning to Ezell's on a regular basis. Oh, and good news for all you Juggalos who are down with the clown until you're in the ground, they serve Faygo! Paint up your face like a moron and head in to get some chicken with a tub of Redpop on the side! 

Also, how could you not like a place that has a giant pic of Guy up on their wall? 

TRIPLE D, REPRESENT! 

For more info on Ezell's Fried Chicken, check out their website: http://www.ezellschicken.com/!

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